NEDERLAND — Nederland’s Mayor, Town staff, and Board of Trustees (BOT) hosted an informal Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, to “deliver prepared remarks” about the Town’s pending acquisition of Eldora Mountain Resort. Community members in attendance were also encouraged to ask questions, though they were told that answers to those questions would not be provided in person.

Town Manager Jonathan Cain quickly jots down notes as Trustee Tierney Maris listens intently.

Photo by Christopher Kelley

Since the Trustees approved the Asset Purchase Agreement for $120 million in early January, and authorized the issuance and sale of Revenue Bonds through the Town’s formed Mountain Recreation Enterprise fund, reports have emerged that have caused a surge in scrutiny from locals about the acquisition. 

First, The Mountain-Ear reported on how the potential sale of the ski area would affect property tax revenue that is allocated to Nederland’s special districts, which could result in the loss of essential funds to the Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) and to the Nederland Community Library. 

Then, The Colorado Sun reported that ski industry “insiders” 303 Ski—composed of Dwight DeBroux, Dave Belin, Blaise Carrig, Mark Gasta, Justin Gold, and Matt Randall—were no longer a part of the Town of Nederland’s venture.

303 Ski was formed to help broker the deal between Nederland and the current owner of the operation, POWDR. Back in July of 2025, when announcing the deal in front of news cameras, Mayor Billy Giblin referred to 303 Ski as the “coalition” that would be providing “operational stewardship for Eldora in the years ahead.” 

“I appreciate the experience you all bring; the ski industry experience and business knowledge,” Giblin said to those members of 303 Ski present for the announcement. “Everyone here has been able to pivot and think on their feet as well as stay grounded, and we couldn’t have done it without them.” 

The Town of Nederland has yet to release a statement regarding 303 Ski’s sudden departure, as they are still working under an ongoing non-disclosure agreement with POWDR—one which 303 Ski is seemingly no longer attached to. DeBroux, however, has expressed that 303 Ski was being “underutilized” in the process, and that the Town decided to “move forward independently.”

In recent meetings, Town staff and the BOT have expressed confidence that, between the two-year Transition Services Agreement with POWDR and the plan to hire or develop their own team of “experts,” the Town of Nederland is quite capable of running the operations without 303 Ski’s knowledge and advice. 

“We’re going to be working with some consultants that will help the transition from an HR perspective, and also the finance perspective, and all the different operating procedures that we need to address,” Town Manager Jonathan Cain said to Trustees at the top of the year.

Cain also reiterated that POWDR would continue to employ a General Manager who will maintain operations at the ski area in accordance with Nederland’s governing structure, as well as its goals and objectives. On February 1, POWDR appointed Andrew Gast as that manager, who has successfully run the Mt. Ashland Ski Area in Oregon since 2022.

Despite the Town’s confidence and wishful thinking, residents have taken to Facebook to express their concerns now that 303 Ski is no longer involved with the Eldora acquisition, as the team of insiders were also rumored to become the financial stewards of the mountain, and were trusted as such not only for their recreational expertise, but also for their entrepreneurial efforts across the Front Range and Peak to Peak regions. 

“The last time I was here there were a lot more people on this stage, and a lot more expertise,” one Nederland resident said to Trustees during Tuesday’s Town Hall meeting, echoing the community’s online sentiment. 

“I was hoping that we could have some outside experts, without specific agendas, who could give us some good advice. Now we’re getting advice from the people who we’re buying it from, and they have completely different agendas.”

The panel on stage addressed several concerns—from the loss of 303 Ski to the issue of public vote on potential future annexation—in prepared statements before giving the members of the audience the chance to ask questions. 

“The Town expects to rely on Eldora’s existing management and on-site staff for the day-to-day operation of the ski area,” Mayor Pro Tem Nichole Sterling said. “This team is already running the resort with 10, 15, and 20-plus years of experience. The new GM for the resort has experience in running a non-profit ski area; plus, by engaging POWDR for the next two year period we believe we have the right combination of talent and expertise.”

Sterling explained how, to remain on brand with keeping Eldora an “independent mountain,” Nederland’s best course of action was to engage multiple groups for counsel on the ski operation, not just 303 Ski. The plan was to keep any further bureaucratic red tape out of the equation in order to keep the relationship between the Town and the mountain simple and direct. 

“There was no agreement for 303 Ski to serve as investors in the acquisition and they were never participants in the transaction as equity partners or financial backers,” Sterling concluded, adding that the consultancy group was never privy to the Town's financial modeling or the transaction details of the acquisition. 

Trustee Tania Corvalan offered clarification regarding the property tax allocations to Nederland’s special districts.

“Property taxes paid in 2026 are based on property ownership and valuation in 2025,” Corvalan said. “As a result, any change in ownership will not affect taxes already assessed for the current cycle. 

“The Town is working directly with the County Assessor to identify which parcels would become Town-owned following the acquisition, and how those parcels are currently assessed.”

NFPD Chief Charlie Schmidtmann, as just one of the handful of residents who took to the microphone to ask questions or voice their concerns, noted that, though the special districts would be receiving their expected tax allocations in 2026, not knowing whether those allocations will return in 2027 poses a challenge when budgeting and planning future programs. 

“I know that Nederland Municipal Code calls for a vote when annexation is five acres, and then it was amended to ten acres,” another resident spoke out, expressing confusion as to the Town’s stance on potential future annexation to expand the ski area. 

“Any annexation must follow the requirements of the Colorado municipal annexation act as well as the Nederland municipal code,” Trustee Andrew Joslin read a prepared statement regarding the annexation issue. “State law requires a signed petition from landowners representing at least 50% of the landowners, and more than 50% of the land area, before the Town could move forward with annexation. Without that petition, annexation of the residential area could not proceed. 

“A private landowner petition is not required for annexation of municipally owned property,” Join continued. “Under the current municipal code, annexation of Town-owned property does not require a separate vote, though any such consideration would still follow the required public notice and hearing process.”   

The prepared statements, and the Town’s perceived reluctance to answer questions, was brought up by members in the audience, as well as preemptively addressed by the Nederland representatives on stage.

“We continue to have to be pretty disciplined with what we say and don’t say, so these scripts help,” Mayor Giblin noted.

“The Town is currently operating under non-disclosure agreements with various transaction participants related to the potential acquisition of Eldora,” Cain said, before reiterating the legal requirements surrounding public communications in regard to the bond process.

“Because of these legal constraints the Town will not be responding to questions during this meeting. This approach is intended to ensure that information is provided consistently, accurately, and in compliance with applicable legal requirements and does not reflect a change in the substance of the Town's work or decision making.”

“Throughout this process, the Town has had multiple opportunities to pause, reconsider, or change course, and those decisions were made by the BOT. Public comment has been accepted at meetings and community members have continued to share their perspectives,” Trustee Tierney Maris followed up, adding a quick timeline of the Town’s engagement with residents all along the road to acquisition. 

“Our intent throughout has been to balance transparency, legal obligations, and responsible process while continuing to engage the community through established public forums.”

Though it was expressed that no answers would be immediately provided during the meeting, local residents still had plenty of questions for the Town to address in their next Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document, including questions about water rights and other environmental issues, concerns from residents of the township of Eldora regarding traffic and light pollution, and inquiries into the financial details of the operation and of the bond structure to be used for the purchase of the ski area.  

Here are just a few of the questions, and one comment, from Nederland residents:

“Does the ski area actually make money every year?” 

“Is the Town looking at this as simply owning a ski hill, or as the foundation for a broader strategy around housing, tourism, and year-round economic vitality?” 

“How soon can we expect some summertime activity up there?” 

“How does the town of Eldora fit into your vision?” 

“Due to climate change, do we know what to do with that asset if its dominant use can’t be a ski resort anymore?” 

“This is a shortcut for the developers. This is an end to our identity as environmental stewards.”  

The most recent edition of the FAQ document —the Town of Nederland’s FAQ 5.0– can be viewed on the Town’s official website, and here: https://www.nederlandco.gov/media/1986